The White Sox introduced free agent signee Austin Hays this afternoon. The outfielder signed a $6MM contract with the rebuilding club, in large part because they’re well positioned to give him regular playing time in the outfield.
“Going back into free agency, I really wanted to go somewhere where I would have an opportunity to do that, play every day, get back to being able to play both sides of the ball, play defense every day as well,” Hays told reporters (link via Jay Cohen of The Associated Press). Hays played a semi-regular role with Cincinnati a year ago. He started a little over half the team’s games but got a decent amount of action as a designated hitter, playing just over 500 innings in left field.
That wasn’t entirely a decision based on usage. Hays had a trio of early-season injured list stints, all related to different areas of his left leg. He had battled a kidney infection in 2024. His most recent full season came in 2023, when he hit .275/.325/.444 in 566 plate appearances with the Orioles. Hays was an above-average everyday player in Baltimore for a few seasons. His recent production has been far more platoon dependent. The righty hitter has mashed left-handed pitching at a .335/.402/.543 clip over the past two years. His .233/.273/.387 line against righties is far less imposing.
The White Sox had arguably the worst right field situation in MLB before the Hays signing. He’ll be in the lineup against pitchers of either handedness and said he’s shooting to reach 140 games played. If he’s producing, he’s likely to be a midseason trade chip and might fit in more of a complementary role on a contender, but the immediate focus is on reestablishing himself as a viable everyday player.
Andrew Benintendi will be in the opposite corner. The left fielder is going into the fourth season of a five-year deal that hasn’t gone as planned. He’s a .245/.309/.391 hitter in more than 1600 plate appearances for the club. Owed $31MM for the next two years, Benintendi isn’t going to have any appeal on the trade market. General manager Chris Getz unsurprisingly said today that an offseason trade isn’t going to be on the table.
“We haven’t had too many conversations about Andrew, so we anticipate he’s going to be on this club come Opening Day,” the GM told reporters (link via James Fegan of Sox Machine). Benintendi has battled lower half injuries over the past two seasons as well, missing time with Achilles tendinitis and calf/groin issues.
That might lead to more work as a designated hitter in an ideal world, but the Sox are likely to lean heavily on their young catching duo of Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero in that spot. Their outfield is thin enough that they don’t have many options to replace Benintendi in left (or right, if Hays slides to left) on days when he’s in the DH spot. Luisangel Acuña is expected to get primary run in center field. Everson Pereira and Derek Hill would be in that mix if they break camp, while non-roster invitees Jarred Kelenic and Dustin Harris have clear paths to jobs.
All those players are out of minor league options. The Sox have taken fliers on a number of former prospects squeezed out by other clubs, but there are only so many bench spots available. Third catcher Korey Lee and backup infielder Lenyn Sosa are also out of options, so there’s limited roster flexibility coming out of camp.
The 26-year-old Sosa finds himself in a tricky spot. He’s coming off a 22-homer season that led the team. It came with an aggressive approach that left him with a meager .293 on-base mark. Sosa also struggled defensively at second base, where Chase Meidroth enters the spring as the projected starter. Getz said that Sosa is unlikely to factor into the outfield mix and mostly remained limited to the right side of the infield. Munetaka Murakami is going to play regularly at first base. Meidroth and Miguel Vargas are right-handed bats ahead of him at second and third base, respectively.
It’s unlikely Sosa will be in jeopardy of losing his roster spot out of camp, but Getz conceded “there is a little bit of a redundancy with the right-handed corner bats” on the roster. The Sox would presumably be willing to consider trade offers if another team looking for a righty infield bat called. He’s not going to pull a huge return, but there’s enough offensive promise that he should get some attention if Chicago makes him available. Speculatively, teams like the Pirates, Padres and Rays could benefit from adding a role player with that profile.
Turning to the other side of the ball, right-hander Mike Vasil tells Rob Bradford and Courtney Finnicum of the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast that he’s building up as a starter going into Spring Training. Vasil worked mostly out of the bullpen as a Rule 5 pick last year, only starting three of 47 appearances. He routinely worked three-plus innings and reached 101 frames altogether, so a swing role wouldn’t be much different than the one he handled as a rookie.
Vasil managed an excellent 2.50 earned run average in his debut campaign. His strikeout and walk profile wasn’t particularly impressive, though he kept the ball on the ground at a strong 51.4% clip. The Rule 5 roster restrictions are lifted in year two, so the Sox can option Vasil to Triple-A if they want him establishing a starting routine in the minors. It’d be difficult to take him out of the big league bullpen if he’s pitching at the same level he did last season, though.
The Sox are likely to open the season with a front four of Shane Smith, Davis Martin, Anthony Kay and Sean Burke if everyone is healthy. Free agent pickup Sean Newcomb can work as a starter or multi-inning reliever. They landed upper minors pitching prospect David Sandlin in the Jordan Hicks salary dump with the Red Sox, while Jonathan Cannon remains on the 40-man roster.
